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Hans is a soldier of Nohr and a criminal who has committed a number of heinous atrocities that include murder and robbery. Lustful for achieving success in life, Hans abuses the power ceded to him in order to attain his goal.

Several years prior to the events of Fates, Xander had personally arrested Hans, but the criminal was released by Garon after having supposedly "rehabilitated" in prison.

Garon deploys Hans to assist the Avatar on a "redemption" mission by exploring an "abandoned" Hoshidan fort near the edge of their borders. After the party unexpectedly encounters Hoshidans guarding the fort, Hans kills one of them, forcing the remaining Hoshidans to attack the party, much to the dismay of both the Avatar and Gunter. Hans blindlessly charges towards a fortified Hoshidan position, getting himself wounded in battle. However, it was just a ruse, as he feigned death so that he could see what the Avatar would do, as per Garon's orders.

Following the battle that ensues, as the Avatar and Gunter prepare to return back to Nohr, Hans ambushes them, whereupon he succeeds in driving Gunter off the cliff into the yawning void of the Bottomless Canyon. He then attempts to kill the Avatar in a similar vein, but fails to do so as they, enraged by Hans' betrayal, activates the Dragon Fang skill. As the Avatar moves in to strike Hans, furiously demanding to know the reason behind his betrayal, they are pulled away and into the chasm by the haunted Ganglari. Hans promptly makes his escape, presumably back to Nohr to report the success of his mission to Garon.

Hans appears in Chapter 13 as part of Camilla's forces. Although defeated in battle, he manages to survive. Leo appears and attempts to kill the Avatar, but they are forced to flee when Scarlet and her Chevian rebels arrive.

Later on, in Chapter 24, it is revealed that Garon has promoted him to the rank of commander. While passing through an underground passage under Elise's guidance, the Hoshidan army accidentally stumbles upon a training ground. Obscured by a statue, the army watch as Hans enters the grounds as Nohrian Heroes and Generals are engaged in their training. One of the Generals later discovers the Hoshidan army, whereupon and Hans gleefully orders his troops to use them as practice targets. The soldiers battle the Hoshidans, but are easily outmatched by them. Annoyed by the supposed incompetence of his soldiers, he personally takes over and lands several devastating blows against the Avatar. Before he can land the killing strike, Lilith arrives and takes the blow for them, sending them into a fit of rage.

During the battle that follows, Hans takes command of his soldiers in an attempt to kill the Hoshidans. In the ensuing battle, he is slain and the remaining Nohrian forces decide to surrender to the Hoshidans. Lilith also dies from the wounds she got from blocking Hans' attack shortly after.

Hans reappears in Chapter 13, where he joins the Avatar in their plans to a stop the rebellion uprising that has broken out in Cheve. The Nohrians come out victorious and the army has spared the lives of the enemy soldiers. Hans, having been ordered by Garon to kill not only the remaining wounded Hoshidan troops and Chevian knights, but also the Chevian civilians following the Avatar's defeat of Scarlet. The Avatar attempts to stop him, but Hans claims that he does not have a choice before continuing his killing spree. According to Camilla, Hans also killed Scarlet in a particularly "gruesome manner" after she was defeated by the Avatar.

In Chapter 14, Hans later gives Garon his report, crediting the Avatar with most of the work he had done, much of their indignant outrage. After the Nohrians kills the band of Hoshidan soldiers that arrive to assassinate Garon, he orders Hans and Iago to kill all the singers in Nestra and they leave to do it.

Hans is also briefly seen in Chapter 16, where Garon welcomes Gunter back into the Nohrian army. Hans also greets him back, but Gunter remains silent towards him.

Hans later reemerges following the conclusion of the fierce defense put up by Sakura in Chapter 22. Upon his entrance, he mercilessly slays a few of the Hoshidan prisoners of war who surrendered with, but not including, Yukimura, Subaki and Hana. Although Xander and the others try to stop him from killing any more prisoners, they are halted by Garon, who threatens to execute them for treason if they continue in their protests. In Chapter 24, he along with Iago, kills several Hoshidan civilians as they go into the capital city.

Hans makes one final appearance in Chapter 26, where he, along with Iago, attempts to kill the Avatar after Garon assumes the throne of Hoshido and for Avatar letting Hinoka escape alive. The joint effort of these deceitful characters proves to be in vain, as the Avatar, working alongside their siblings and army, manages to slay Hans and Iago, ending their tyranny and avenging all the innocents they killed. Before his death, Hans is surprised and angered, saying he will not be rewarded for all his "hard" work.

In Chapter 14, following Xander's return to Castle Krackenberg after his return from Cyrkensia, Hans is observed to be conversing with Iago. Within this exchange, Hans asserts the impossibility of Xander being convinced to join the Avatar's cause, to which Iago disagrees. Iago then brings up the fact that Camilla had joined the Avatar's army to support his disagreement, resolutely maintaining a stance of suspicion against Xander.

Hans later reappears in Chapter 16, once again hired by Garon to kill the Avatar and stop them from getting near the Bottomless Canyon. Although Hans puts up a good fight, he falls to the combined might of both Hoshido and Nohr.

Hans is a violent criminal who will go to any length, no matter how inhumane they may be, in order to realise his dream of attaining power. To this end, he relishes murder and bloodshed, a fact that is repeatedly proven through his involvement across the game's various routes. He cares little for his subordinates, willingly charging forward alongside them, but abandoning them the first instance he is outmatched. He is more concerned with his own self-preservation than the well-being of his comerades.

Hans has earned the dislike and distrust of the Nohrian royal siblings, particularly Xander, for his lack of humanity. Likewise, Hans detests them, stating that they are another obstacle in the way of obtaining glory and relishes the thought of killing them in order to do so.

“Bwahahaha! I hope you're all prepared to die! Actually...I don't care if you're ready or not. The more of you I kill, the better the promotion I'll get as a reward. Earl Hans... No... Duke Hans... Yes, that has a nice ring to it.”
—Hans' Pre-Battle Quote.

The name Ganz is a German surname for the word "complete" or "full". The meaning of this name however isn´t suitiable to his character, because of that, it is better to assume that the name is spelled gans with a "s" instead of a "z". Gans is German for "Goose".

The name Hans is a male German, Dutch, and Scandinavian name meaning "gift from God" or "God has been gracious". It is both a short form for the name Johannes and the German variant of the Hebrew name John.

In a Fire Emblem Cipher live-stream, what appeared to be a WIP card art for Hans appeared.

Despite being a berserker, Hans uses the critical animation of a Fighter's by leaping into the air and back down to strike his victims rather than beginning with a forward rush like what most Berserkers do.

In a sketch by Kozaki, Hans is spending his leisure time with two women, presumably his lovers.

His character model in Chapter 3 retains his Berserker battle model rather than a Fighter equivalent.